Guide to Spanish Pronunciation

If you want to master Spanish pronunciation, you must understand that Spanish vowels have but one sound.

There are slight variations, but these are automatically determined by the consonat that follows or precedes the vowel.

As for consonants, you do not pronounce them as strong as in English. But you must pronounce them distinctly, as they control the vowel sounds.

The Spanish language is a phonetic language. That means that, save for a few exceptions, consonants and vowels will always sound the same in given conbinations.

Spanish is essentially a language of vowels; whereas English is more nearly a language of consonants.

The gliding sound of so many English vowels is hardly heard in Spanish.

For instance, the relatively long and rounded sound of the vowel "o" in the English word "NO" does not exist in Spanish.

With or without stress on a vowel, you pronounce Spanish vowels clearly, not slurred as in English!

Ok, check out the vowels below. They are the same vowels as in English, but in Spanish they have only one sound.

A E I O U

Pronunciation Drill: The Vowels

Click the player button for each of the pictures below. Then read aloud each word repeating the pronunciation you heard. This drill will reinforce the pronunciation for each vowel.

Although each word is illustrated with a picture, you can always refer to the site's Spanish Dictionary if you are not sure... just in case!

Enjoy your drill!